Method of soldering terminals for electrical conductors



Oct. 4, 1949. R MART|NE5 METHOD OF SOLDERING TERMINALS FOR ELECTRICALCONDUCTORS Flled March 5l 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORN YS.

Oct. 4, 1949. R, MARTlNEs 2,483,424

METHOD 0F SOLDERING TERMINALS FOR ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS Filed March 31,1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1N V EN TOR.

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ATTORNEYS.

Patented Oct. 4, 1349 METHOD F SOLDERING TERMINALS FOR ELECTRICALQONDUCTORS Rene Martines, Cranston, R. I., assignor, by mesneassignments, to Electric Terminal Corporation, Providence, R. I., acorporation of Rhode Island Application March 31, 1947, Serial No.738,320

3 Claims. (Cl. 117-102) This invention relates to a wire terminal suchas may be attached to an electrical conductor for securing the conductorto some electrical binding post or otherpart. It is desirable in thesecuring of a terminal to the end of a wire that the terminal besoldered to the wire for a good electrical connection thereto; and, inmany instances, it is necessary to apply solder as a separate operationto the wire and the terminal at the time of securing these together.Also, in many instances, the terminals are handled as individual unitswhich is time consuming where large quantities are used.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide solder assembled withthe terminal at a location where the solder is required and in an amountsuflicient for securing the terminal to the Wire.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved method bywhich the solder may be easily and .quickly applied and located at thepoint desired.

Another object of this invention is to provide a stop for the insertionof an insulated wire so that` the wire itself will be located Where thesolder is provided.

Another object ofV this invention is the securing of the wire to theterminal and the insulation `of the wire to the terminal in a manner sothat the terminal is well supported on the end oi the wire. I

Another object of this invention is to secure the wire to the terminalby physically clamping the arms oi the terminal on the wire and also bythe use of solder.

Another object of this invention is to form the terminals in a tandemrelation and so cut the terminals apart that a burred edge will notoccur at the point of severing.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certainnovel features of construction as will be more fully described andparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the travel of the terminalsin the application of solder thereto;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of one step in the procedure;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the strip terminals after having beenpassed through the various steps shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the wire inserted in the terminal aftersevered from the strip;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the wire com- 2 pletely attached to theterminal; f

as extending across a supporting surface with a punch or kcutter insection for detaehing on terminal from the series;

Fig. '7 is a section of the parts of Fig. 6;

Figj8 is a View similar to Fig. 6 of a modification;

Fig, 9 is a section of the showing in Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the terminal formed from the stripshown in Figs. 8 and 9.

In proceeding with the invention, I cut out from sheet stock, bysuitable punch and dye operations, a configuration which will lenditself to the formation of terminals in end-to-end relation to bereeled; and, in a second step, I bend the arms from opposite sides ofthe body so that the arms will be in a form which is desired for theapplication of solder to the terminals. After this has occurred, thetandemly related terminals will be run through solder and the solderwill adhere to the terminals, but will be removed from the terminals atall points except in a location Where a quantity of solder sufficientfor attaching a wire to the terminal is desired. By the bending inwardlyof certain of the securing arms of the terminal, this relationshipwhereby the solder is retained at the locav tion of the bend in the armsis provided, and this bend in the arms also serves the additional usefulfunction of forming a stop to engage the insulation and limit theinsertion of the insulated Wire into the terminal to a position desired.In the severing of the terminals for after use, severing occurs byremoving a quantity of stock so as to prevent the burring of the edge ofthe terminal.

With reference to the drawings, ID designates generally a strip ofterminals which is drawn from a supply package I I of terminals for theapplication of solder thereto.

The strip of terminals I0 is formed as an integral strip of tandemlyrelated terminals cut out so that each terminal will have a head portionI2 and a shank portion I3. The head portion I2 of one terminal will bejoined to the shank portion I3 of the next terminal by means of a shortsection I4 (see Fig. 6) of sheet stock which Will later be removed. Eachhead will have some opening or recess I5 for securing lt to a bindingpost. Each shank I3 will have a pair of arms I 6 consisting of arms I1and I8 which will be bent inwardly to overly the shank I3, as shown inFigs. 2 and 3, while there will be a second set of arms |9 consisting ofarms 20 and 2| which will stand upwardly from the shank in parallelrelation leaving an open top, such as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

This tandemly related strip from the package will then be passed througha bath of potash or some other cleaner 22 beneath the guide roll 23 thenout over a guide roll 24 and through a bath of acetic or hydrochloricacid 25 beneath the guide roll 26 therein to remove the alkali. Thestrip will then pass over a guide roll 21 and into a bath of flux 28,such as zinc chloride, beneath the guide roll 29 therein and thence overa guide roll 30 and into a hot solder bath 3| beneath the guide roll 32;and then as the strip leaves the solder bath, it will pass betweenbrushes 33 and 34 (see also Fig. 2) and thence over a guide` roll 35 andbe packaged upon the take-up roll 36.

The brushes 33 and 34 will be formed of some rather stiff material,such` as Wood fiber bristles or cellulose ber bristles to which solderwill not adhere. The bristles will be conveniently of 1 1/2" long andradially inserted into a drum or hub 3l about in diameter. The bristleswill be sufcient to form a face about 2 wide. These dimensions, ofcourse, are only illustrative. The action of the bristles is such as towipe from the strip the solder which has accumulated thereon as thestrip leaves the solder bath 3|. However, in as much as the arms and I8of the strip extend inwardly overlying the shank I3, the bristles willbe deiiected upwardly, as shown in Fig. 2, at this location, and thusthere will occur a globule ofv solder 38 beneath each of these armswhich is the location where the solder is desired.

After a terminal is ready for use, wire 39 having insulation 4Uthereabout is stripped so as to leave a bare portion of the wireextending beyond the part 4| of the insulation, and this wire isinserted between the arms I9 so that the insulation engages the edge ofthe arms I6 and the wire extending beneath these arms I5 and on thesolder. At the time the arms are bent inwardly to grip the wire and itsinsulation, heat is applied so that the solder melts and secures thewire to the terminal as shown in Fig. 5, while the arms 9 are bent aboutand tightly grip the insulation 40 of the wire to hold the Wire firmlysecured to the terminal.

Usually a terminal will be attached to a wire prior to its being severedfrom the strip such as indicated in my copending application Serial No.611,846, led August 21, 1945, except', of course,

4 the solder is applied as herein above stated rather than as in suchprior application.

The severing will occur immediately after the soldering operation whilethe strip of terminals are passing over the bed die 40 which has anopening 4| therein into which a punch or cutter 42 is received. Thispunchor cutter 42 removes the portion 4 of stock which connects the headof one terminal to the shank of the next terminal, and by removing thispiece of stock both ends are left square with no burrs upon either edgesuch as might occur should the stock be sheared without removing apiece.

In some cases, instead of removing a piece, such as I4, a piecedesignated 45 in the terminals l0 will be removed by a cutter or punch46 which at the same time removes a sufficient portion so as to leavespacedV arms 41 and 48, as shown in Fig. 10, instead of the circularrecess or opening such as I5 in the terminals heretofore spoken of. Theterminals, such as shown in Figs. 6 to 9, will be stored on thereel 36until ready for use.

I claim:

1'. In a method ol applying solder to a predetermined area on anelement, the steps which comprise immersing an elongated metal articlecomprising a pluralityl of tandemly` related elements each of whichelements has been provided with upstanding arms overhanging the portionto be coated, in molten solder to encompass the area to be covered andat least a4 portion of the upstanding arms, brushing solder from theelements about and over said arms whereby the upstanding and overhangingarms deiiect the brush bristles from the solder at the desired locationbeneath said arms to maintain the solder at this location while removingit from the surrounding area.

2. In a method as in claim l wherein said brushing is from oppositesides ofA the article.

3. In a method as in claim 1 wherein the element comprises an electricalWire terminal.

RENE MARTINES.-

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS- Number Name Date 962,921' Schneider June 28, 19101,692,818 Christoph Nov. 27, 1928 1,710,393 Williams April'23, 19292,364,904 Keller Dec. 12, 1944

